A Lehigh Valley Health Network patient whose nude photos were posted to the dark web by a Russian ransomware gang has sued the Allentown, Pa.-based health system, The (Allentown) Morning Call reported.
The BlackCat ransomware group has been posting photos of breast cancer patients and other patient data it stole from Lehigh Valley after the health system refused its demands to pay ransom.
In the lawsuit, the Pennsylvania woman, known as Jane Doe, accused the health system of making a "knowing, reckless and willful decision to let the hackers post the nude images," while "publicly patting itself on the back for standing up to the hackers" and "consciously and intentionally ignoring the real victims," according to the March 13 story. She seeks damages and class-action status.
The woman said Lehigh Valley informed her March 6 that photos of her breast cancer treatment, showing her exposed chest and face, had been posted by the ransomware gang, though she had no idea the pictures had been taken or stored by the health system in the first place, the news outlet reported.
A spokesperson for Lehigh Valley told the newspaper it cannot comment on active litigation.